Listing Contract Protection Clause

Training as a new agent yesterday I was studying our listing contract.

The first thing I notice is that it is called an 'Exclusive Right to Sell,' and one of the things I asked about was a Protection Period described below.

Within _____ days of the termination of this agreement (hereinafter protection period), if Seller enters into an agreement to or does sell, exchange, convey, lease, or rent the Property to any party to whom Broker or any cooperating broker has marketed the Property, the commission shall be payable at the time such agreement is entered into. However, Seller is not obligated to pay a commission to Broker if, during the protection period, Seller has entered into a valid listing agreement covering the property with another licensed real estate broker that obligated Seller to pay that broker a commission upon the sale, exchange, lease, or rental of the Property.

Sure enough there are several agents in my office brooding over the interpretation of this part of the document we so commonly use.

For a situation such as an agent in my office that had her listing withdrawn, about a month before expiration, and a potential buyer who had been shown the property by another agent decided to lease the home. The agent in my office invoiced the Seller for the commission to be paid per the lease agreement, since it was signed during the protection period. Unfortunately the Seller is also a legal assistant in a local law office, who promptly had one of the attorney's read and dismiss the invoice based on the Protection Period. Even worse the agent and seller, are now estranged friends over the misunderstanding of how we (Realtors) get paid.

It seems to me that there must be many agents who simply do not persue any compensation for a situation like this, however I would imagine that this will happen more often in this market. It is more important than ever to make sure the clients understand how we get paid.

For more information regarding Montana Real Estate or lead generation services in your local area feel to free to contact me with no obligation.

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